Business Continuity Planning
In-Company Training
Business Continuity Planning is the process through which an organisation ensures the maintenance or recovery of operations, including services to customers, when faced with disruptive events such as natural disasters, technological failures, human error or terrorism. Business continuity is an ongoing priority for big organisations.
This highly practical 2 day course will prepare professionals to effectively mange institutions in times of external disruptions. Through recent case studies and practical exercises you will learn how to identify potential risks and their impact as well as to prepare and implement action plans for your own institution.
Main topics covered:
- Developing BCM framework in an institution
- Managing costs related to BCP
- Managing IT function through Business Continuity Planning
- Human aspect in Business Continuity Management
- Developing an IT Contingency planning
- The 10 commandments of business continuity management
- Developing effective scenarios
- Understanding business and operational risks and interdependencies
- Exploring the Basel principles for business continuity
- Developing effective communication styles in crisis management
Programme includes many real life case studies based on recent events as well as practical exercises and discussions.
Who Should Attend
- Business Continuity Managers
- Operational Risk Managers
- Project Managers
- Risk Managers
- Auditors
and anyone responsible for ensuring the continuity of an organisation's critical systems or processes, including project and business managers, help desk personnel and human resources professionals.
Teaching Method
This is highly interactive course which comprises of presentations, case studies, discussions and comprehensive group exercises.
In order to help us establish your individual and business concerns, you will be asked to fill pre-course questionnaire.
Because of the nature of the course the number of places is limited and will be filled on first come, first accepted basis. We advise to book in advance in order to avoid disappointment.
Busiess Continuity Management & Scenario Planning - A 2 Day Course
Day 1
Session 1: Introduction
What is Business Continuity?
- How Business Continuity evolved
- What are the differences with regular risk management
Why is Business Continuity Critical?
We examine potential “headaches” such as telecommunication failures and the potential for disruptions caused by environmental failures
Basic Definitions
We explore some basic definitions such as Business Continuity Management, Business Impact Analysis, Critical Market Participants, Major Operational Disruption, Operational Risk, Recovery Time and Resilience among others.
Session 2: Understanding Risks, threats and interndependencies
Session 3: The Basel Principles for Business Continuity
We explore the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s set of high-level principles intended to support international standard setting organizations and national financial authorities in their efforts to improve the resilience of financial systems to major operational disruptions.
Session 4: Effective Business Continuity Management
We explore the details of a range of activities aimed at identifying, controlling, and mitigating risks. Included in this section are issues such as;
o Risk Management & BCP
o Types of Contingency Related Plans
o Key Differences Between BCP & DRP
o Interrelationship of Contingency Related Plans
o Risk Monitoring, Business Impact Analyses
o Recovery Strategies
o Business Continuity Plans
o Diversification of Back-Up Arrangements
o Testing Program
o Training and Awareness Programs
o Communication and Crisis management Programs
o Recovery Times
Estimating Costs & Budgeting
o What are the Costs?
o Balancing costs against recovery times
o Recovery Point & Recovery Time
o Recovery Cost Balancing
o Cost of Alternative Sites
Session 5: “Crossing Bank Borders” – IT Contingencies
In this section we look at the key IT threats, the nature of and the relationship between the “internal” and “external” IT environments.
o IT Service Continuity Management,
o IT Threats,
o IT Service Contingency Strategy,
o Maintaining an IT Service Continuity Strategy,
o Business Criticality & Risk Assessments
o The Risk Assessment Process,
o The IT Contingency Planning Process,
o Developing an IT Service Contingency Strategy including mapping process flows,
o Mapping the risks,
o Rehearsals,
o Synchronous vs. asynchronous trade-off and architectures,
o Impact of Disaster – The Threat Radius.
Case Study: “How far is far enough?” – Business Continuity and 9/11.
Day Two
Session 1: The Human Aspect
Building resiliency into your human capital. We examine the nature of human capital, human capital risks in crisis situations, and critical factors in the human chain.
- Human Capital Risks
- Ability to Attend Work
- Ability to Deliver Critical Internal Services
- Ability to Maintain Business Operations
- Critical Factors in the Human Chain
Session 2: Avoiding Business Continuity Pitfalls
o The 10 commandments of business continuity management.
Session 3: Key Issues in IT for Business Continuity Planning
How do you determine the quality and effectiveness of the organization’s business continuity planning process, and whether the continuity testing program is sufficient to demonstrate the financial institution’s ability to meet its continuity objectives? We review key issues such as;
o Business Impact Analysis & Risk Assessment
o Risk Management
o Hardware, Back-up & Recovery Issues
o Security
o Outsourced Activities
o Risk Monitoring & Testing
o Execution, Evaluation, & Re-testing
Case Studies: Major events and their affect on financial institutions
o Natural Disaster – Hurricane Katrina
o Terrorism – London July 7th
o Terrorism – 9/11 & Disruptions to the Payment System.
• In each case study we look at the event, the impact to the financial system, specific problems and lessons learned.
• 2011 Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami & Nuclear Power Plant Failure
o What the events in Japan teach us about Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery; Successes & Failures
Session 5: A Scenario Planning Primer
- Developing effective scenarios and linking them to analysis
- Using Scenarios for Business Continuity Planning
- Analysing the process
Exercise: practical scenario planning
Richard Barr
Richard holds a B.S. in International Business Administration from San Jose State University in California. His professional experience spans 19 years, 5 of which were spent with Wells Fargo Bank. Another 5 were spent honing his global banking skills, when Richard was involved with International Trade Finance, Real Time Gross Settlement and Cross Border Banking. The past 9 years have been in the private and high-tech sectors providing high-level consulting services, business analysis, project management and training to a wide range of banking clientele across the globe.
He has spent extensive time servicing a diversity of “financial institutional” clients, in South Africa, Poland, Sweden, Ireland, Netherlands, Greece, Bermuda, Malawi, United Kingdom and across North America. Clients include AIB Bank, Eurobank, ABSA Bank, CitiBank, Swedbank, INDEbank, IBM, Montran and Fundtech, as well as many others.
Richard has also filled the role of advisor to central banks on payment systems and technical payments issues. Furthermore, key staff from the Bank of England, South African Reserve Bank, Central Bank of Ireland and Bank of Portugal who have attended training sessions presented by Richard.
